The kids talked about her, as they typically did, not knowing that she could understand every single word spilling out of their mouths. “Look at her nose—look at her eyes! Why are they that small? So weird.” Being one of the only Chinese girls in her Beverly Hills neighborhood was somewhat similar to a museum exhibition, 8-year-old Shoko thought. She stuffed her blonde-haired, blue-eyed Barbie into her backpack and kept walking. In the same moment across the country, 15-year-old Monique stared at the mirror for the twentieth time that morning and wondered, “Why can’t I have normal, straight hair? Why can’t my skin be just a little lighter? I wish I were petite.”
Every day, countless girls relate to Shoko and Monique, who feel that they deviate …show more content…
A simple definition of beauty can be interpreted as something that contains pleasing qualities or is aesthetically appealing to the senses. However, human cultural perception of beauty tends to differ from area to area: a woman considered gorgeous in one place could be thought of as unattractive in another. Interestingly, notable factors such as mass media have worked hard to construct perfect universal representations of beauty, whether it’s seen through makeup commercials or Hollywood. These sociocultural measures of especially feminine beauty, expressed through mainstream media, have portrayed to audiences across the world, including those in the United States, what is considered to be the best face, weight, shape, etc. Mass media itself is incredibly influential in our society as a prominent and constantly accessible source of information. Unfortunately, whether it’s through a Revlon nude lipstick advertisement or the white female lead role in a blockbuster, the media reveals our inherent ideals, which are themselves formed by the media in a consequently cyclical manner. Media has the power to perpetuate the consumer desire to see what we deem as “beautiful” and therefore has a formidable effect on women’s perspectives …show more content…
Unfortunately, since mainstream media constantly swamps the masses with notions of what is desirable versus undesirable, racial bias in misrepresentation of women creep into the discourse. For example, one pattern of racial bias shows through a firm set of ideals dictating that only particular African American women are “beautiful.” As a result, African Americans consume these Eurocentric standards and create disconnect in the community between those who fit more into a Eurocentric ideal and those who do not. The dominant culture already excludes black women from their own idea of beauty, but the internalization of Westernized beauty standards by some black women will even cause women with more characteristic African traits—darker skin, kinky hair—to feel excluded. The internalization here ties into the traditional idea that women with similar hair or skin color to Caucasian Americans are more likely to hold higher social
Every day, countless girls relate to Shoko and Monique, who feel that they deviate …show more content…
A simple definition of beauty can be interpreted as something that contains pleasing qualities or is aesthetically appealing to the senses. However, human cultural perception of beauty tends to differ from area to area: a woman considered gorgeous in one place could be thought of as unattractive in another. Interestingly, notable factors such as mass media have worked hard to construct perfect universal representations of beauty, whether it’s seen through makeup commercials or Hollywood. These sociocultural measures of especially feminine beauty, expressed through mainstream media, have portrayed to audiences across the world, including those in the United States, what is considered to be the best face, weight, shape, etc. Mass media itself is incredibly influential in our society as a prominent and constantly accessible source of information. Unfortunately, whether it’s through a Revlon nude lipstick advertisement or the white female lead role in a blockbuster, the media reveals our inherent ideals, which are themselves formed by the media in a consequently cyclical manner. Media has the power to perpetuate the consumer desire to see what we deem as “beautiful” and therefore has a formidable effect on women’s perspectives …show more content…
Unfortunately, since mainstream media constantly swamps the masses with notions of what is desirable versus undesirable, racial bias in misrepresentation of women creep into the discourse. For example, one pattern of racial bias shows through a firm set of ideals dictating that only particular African American women are “beautiful.” As a result, African Americans consume these Eurocentric standards and create disconnect in the community between those who fit more into a Eurocentric ideal and those who do not. The dominant culture already excludes black women from their own idea of beauty, but the internalization of Westernized beauty standards by some black women will even cause women with more characteristic African traits—darker skin, kinky hair—to feel excluded. The internalization here ties into the traditional idea that women with similar hair or skin color to Caucasian Americans are more likely to hold higher social